Stories

Robotic Prosthetic Ankles Improve ‘Natural’ Movement, Stability

Robotic prosthetic ankles that are controlled by nerve impulses allow amputees to move more “naturally,” improving their stability, according to a new study from North...

AI Copilot Enhances Human Precision for Safer Aviation

Imagine you're in an airplane with two pilots, one human and one computer. Both have their “hands” on the controllers, but they're always looking out for different things. If...

DNA Nano-Engine

An international team of scientists has recently developed a novel type of nano-engine made of DNA. It is driven by a clever mechanism that can perform pulsing movements. The researchers are now planning to fit it with a...

What Are Bio-Inspired Robots?

Bio-inspired robots have many applications ranging from inspections and rescue operations to surgery and space exploration. Test your knowledge about bio-inspired robots in this quiz.

My Opinion: Engineers Can Help Solve Social Problems

This past year’s Technology and Society articles in Tech Briefs magazine describe different ways engineers are making significant contributions to improving our lives.

Using AI to Track Animal Behavior

A Salk team has created GlowTrack, a non-invasive movement tracking method that uses fluorescent dye markers to train AI.

Shape-Changing Smart Speaker Lets Users Mute Areas of a Room

Researchers have developed a shape-changing smart speaker, which uses self-deploying microphones to divide rooms into speech zones.

How Much Do You Know About Radar?

Radar is used in a wide variety of applications from locating nearby aircraft, to navigating unmanned vehicles, to trapping speeding motorists. How much do you really know about this common technology? Take this quiz to find out.

Combustion-Powered, Bug-Sized Robots can Leap, Lift, and Race

Researchers combined soft microactuators with high-energy-density chemical fuel to create an insect-scale quadrupedal robot that is powered by combustion.

New Wearable Sensor Makes Continuous Analysis of Sweat Possible

Continuous monitoring of sweat can reveal valuable information about human health, such as the body’s glucose levels. However, wearable sensors previously developed for this...

Researchers Wire Up Individual Graphene Nanoribbons

Researchers have developed a method of “wiring up” graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), a class of one-dimensional materials that are of interest in the scaling of microelectronic devices....

Analog and Digital: Best of Both Worlds in One Energy-Efficient System

We live in an analog world of continuous information flow that is both processed and stored by our brains at the same time, but our electronic devices process...

How Much Do You Know About Sustainability?

With the increasing threat of climate change, efforts must be stepped up to ensure development today does not negatively affect future generations. How much do you know about sustainability? Find out with this quiz.

Bendy-but-Sturdy Robot Autonomously Travels Through Lung Tissue

Researchers have demonstrated that their steerable robot can autonomously maneuver the intricacies of the lung, while avoiding important lung structures.

How Much Do You Know About Hypersonic Weapon Technology?

The DoD has been pursuing the development of hypersonic weapons since the early 2000s, although such research programs date back even further. How much do you know about hypersonic weapon technology? Test your knowledge in this quiz.

New Hydrogel Uses Just Energy from Sunlight to Create Water

Researchers at University of Texas at Austin were able to pull water out of the atmosphere and make it drinkable using solar energy, in conditions as low as 104°.

New Tech Speeds Up Bacterial Testing in Food

A promising technology that could potentially revolutionize the process of testing bacterial viability in food.

Learning to Control a Robot

Researchers from MIT and Stanford University have devised a new machine-learning approach that could be used to control a robot, such as a drone or autonomous vehicle, more effectively and efficiently in dynamic...

Lehigh Researchers Make Sand That Flows Uphill

The team’s findings were published today in the journal Nature Communications. A corresponding video shows what happens when torque and an attractive force is applied to each grain — the...

Soft Valve Technology Enables Sensing and Control Integration in Soft Robots

Soft inflatable robots have emerged as a promising paradigm for applications that require inherent safety and adaptability. However, the integration of sensing and...

Wi-Fi that Can Read Through Walls

The technique has enabled, for the first time, imaging the English alphabet through walls with Wi-Fi, a task once deemed too difficult.

My Opinion: Use the IIoT — Thoughtfully

The connected factory has a lot to offer, but getting it from the minds of the designers to a working system on the shop floor is not a simple process.

Continuously Tunable Thermal Regulators for Batteries and Electronic Devices

Battery safety and performance in electronic devices and systems like battery thermal management, space conditioning, vehicle thermal comfort, and thermal energy...

Going the Distance for Better Wireless Charging

Accounting for radiation loss is the key to efficient wireless power transfer over long distances. Aalto University engineers have optimized the way antennas transmitting and receiving power...

An Electrifying Collaboration: From the Lab to the Marketplace

Matthias Preindl, associate professor of electrical engineering at Columbia Engineering, and Wesley Pennington, the founder and CEO of Tau Motors, have formed a collaboration to...

New Material Will Burn Viruses, Not Skin

A new material uses Joule heating to decontaminate its surface of coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 in under 5 seconds, effectively killing at least 99.9 percent of viruses.

A Li-ion Battery Material for Faster, More Efficient EV Charging

ORNL researchers recently developed a Li-ion battery material that not only recharges 80 percent of its capacity in 10 minutes but keeps that ability for 1,500 charging cycles.

How Much Do You Know About Wind Energy?

Wind energy is a big part of the mix of renewable energy sources. It brings to mind images of fields of giant windmills, but not a lot of detailed understanding. How good is your knowledge about our wind energy? Take this quiz to check it out.

Using Coffee to Reduce Waste from 3D Printing

Researchers have already experimented with using coffee grounds to 3D print jewelry, pots for plants, and even, fittingly, espresso cups. The technique is also simple enough that it will work on most low-cost, consumer-grade 3D printers.